The components approved for service include an arm rest, grab handle and
seat back table – all of which will now be trialled on in-service
passengertrains in 2019.

The aim of this collaboration is to leverage additive manufacturing to
help address the issue of obsolete parts, reduce whole life rolling
stock costs and enable vehicles to remain in passenger service for
longer. This innovation also has the added potential to lower costs for
train operating companies, as they can produce low run parts as needed,
rather than mass manufacturing vast quantities.

All parts have been designed for additive manufacturing and 3D printed
using Stratasys’ Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) technology. In
addition, the components have been structurally assessed by ESG Rail for
manufacturing using Stratasys 3D printed tooling and the company’s
advanced, rail-certified thermoplastic materials. The components will
soon commence in-service passenger trials, which are expected to last
until the summer of 2019.

Traditionally, standard thermoplastics have been used, but these have
poor mechanical properties and fire performance, and are therefore
unsuitable for rolling stock applications. New, high-performance
materials, including Stratasys Antero 800 NA, a PEKK-based
thermoplastic, have now been tested to demonstrate they are capable of
achieving compliance to the Rail Standard EN45545-2.

Commenting on this announcement, Mark Hicks, Angel Trains’ Technical
Director said: “This exciting industry-first collaboration has the
potential to transform manufacturing within the rail industry. We are
proud to be driving this innovation with ESG Rail and Stratasys and hope
that this solution will help to free the industry from technological
constraints, and allow our trains to continue to meet passengers’ needs
now and in the future.”

Martin Stevens, Head of Mechanical Engineering, ESG Rail, commented: “We
have learned so much during this project and have addressed many
engineering challenges. We believe that this emerging method of
manufacturing will reduce costs, production times and issues faced by
component obsolescence.”

Yann Rageul, Manager, Strategic Account Team EMEA, Stratasys added:
“With the highest level of repeatability in the industry and advanced,
rail-certified, materials, we believe our FDM additive manufacturing
solutions offer huge potential to replace traditional manufacturing for
a diverse range of applications within the rail industry. This
collaboration will help us to explore how we can support rail companies,
such as Angel Trains, to produce parts on-demand – both cost-effectively
and efficiently – eradicating the need for obsolete inventory and
improving their ability to service customers.”

Kevin Dilks, Business Development Manager, ESG Rail, said: “We are
absolutely delighted to be working alongside Angel Trains and Stratasys
in the development of additive manufacturing components for the rail
industry. We are proud to be at the forefront of this emerging
technology and we look forward to a long and fruitful collaboration.”

About ESG Rail - ESG Rail is the route to market for DB’s
technology expertise. As part of the DB Group, ESG provides innovative,
value-led strategic advice, technical consultancy and technology
integration. Based in Derby, home to the largest cluster of railway
companies in the world, ESG is a leading rolling stock consultancy and
provides services to many of the UK’s train operators, manufacturers,
owners and maintainers.

Angel Trains is one of Britain’s leading train leasing companies and has
been an owner and lessor of rolling stock since 1994. The company leases
to 18 franchised operators and two open access operators in the UK.
Angel Trains is passionate about financing and delivering high quality,
modern assets to its customers and is committed to working with the
Government, the Rail Delivery Group ("RDG") and other stakeholders to
provide innovative funding solutions to modernise and improve the UK's
train fleet. Angel Trains has invested £5.0 billion in new rolling stock
and refurbishment programmes since 1994 and is one of the largest
private investors in the industry.

Stratasys is a global leader in additive manufacturing or 3D
printing technology and is the manufacturer of FDM® and
PolyJet™ 3D Printers. The company’s technologies are used to create
prototypes, manufacturing tools, and production parts for industries,
including aerospace, automotive, healthcare, consumer products and
education. For 30 years, Stratasys products have helped manufacturers
reduce product-development time, cost, and time-to-market, as well as
reduce or eliminate tooling costs and improve product quality. The
Stratasys 3D printing ecosystem of solutions and expertise includes: 3D
printers, materials, software, expert services, and on-demand parts
production. Corporate Headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota and Rehovot,
Israel. Online at: http://www.stratasys.com/,
http://blog.stratasys.com/
and LinkedIn.

Stratasys is a registered trademark and Fortus, ULTEM, and Stratasys
signet are trademarks of Stratasys Ltd. and/or its subsidiaries or
affiliates. All other trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.